Life-affirming Economics In Brazil
Listening & Learning Series
Rio de Janeiro, 13th - 22nd November
São Paolo, 24th - 29th November
In collaboration with UMMA Brazil and ReEconomy Project
Inspired by the living-learning approach of Schumacher College and developed by UMMA – Hub of Regenerative Businesses, this journey invites you to reimagine and rebuild the future of our economies from the perspective of life itself.
Through a series of immersive experiences, workshops, and collective dialogues, you will be guided through practices of unlearning; letting go of old patterns and conditioning to create space for the new to emerge.
This is a call to all who wish to co-create life-affirming futures, together with people and territories committed to new ways of thriving—more just, more grounded, and more alive.
Why Join?
We live in a time when the dominant economic model reveals its limits in the open wounds of ecosystems, in worsening inequalities, and in the growing gap between what our societies do and what actually sustains life. And yet, something new is beginning to emerge. More vibrant, rooted, and whole narratives are calling for attention: economies that flourish through cooperation, care, and regeneration.
Join core faculty member Jay Tompt in Brazil this November, not only to hear his experience of teaching Regenerative Economics at Schumacher, but also to listen, learn, and honour the knowledge that emerges from these places and spaces of collaboration.
We will also be joined by local collaborators Melissa Bivar (Social Contemporâneo | UMMA), Lala Deheinzelin (Fluxonomy), Ana Lavaquial (Donut Brasil |UMMA) Professor Dr. Claudio Honorato (IPN), Renata Ramos (Tabahyba | UMMA) and many more!
What to Expect?
The journey begins with a visit to the Instituto dos Pretos Novos, acknowledging the wounded memory of Brazil’s past and colonial legacy that still reverberates through its economic and political institutions. Entering Brazil through this portal is a symbolic and necessary gesture: before speaking of powerful futures, we must remember, acknowledge, and feel.
This Life-affirming Economics Journey creates spaces of encounter between practices and theories, between Global South and Global North, between reason and imagination, between head, heart, and hands. It is an invitation to cultivate another kind of perception: more relational, more cooperative, and more committed to the flourishing of all life.
We will learn from each other and from the place itself. Because transforming the economy is not just about reorganizing indicators or adjusting models; it is about reorienting the way we inhabit the world, in harmony with the Earth that sustains us.
Facilitators
Melissa Bivar
Co-Founder of Social Contemporâneo and the Regenerative Business Hub. With 28 years of experience in corporate sustainability, she is a consultant in strategic design based on living systems, as well as an entrepreneur and activist. Read More…
Jay Tompt
Jay is a co-founder of several place-based regenerative economics initiatives. He led the MA Regenerative Economics program at Schumacher College and is also an associate lecturer in economics at Plymouth University. Read More…
About UMMA
UMMA are a group of professional consultants and educators who believe that the future of business lies in a new worldview, where caring for life is at the centre. They investigate and experiment with new ways of undertaking, creating and managing organisations, developing practices and tools that support people, projects and initiatives in transforming their operating models. They act as agents of transition to a new development model that is integral, ethical, collaborative and in service to all of life.
For more information and to book all events, click below:
In collaboration with UMMA Brazil and ReEconomy Project
